James Branch Cabell in 1906, aged twenty-seven. Cabell is in the early stages of his career, with several short stories and poems to his credit, as well as his first novel, The Eagle's Shadow.

Almost twenty years after it was made, this portrait from the studio of Homeir and Clark, Richmond, was the inspiration for an article by Cabell titled "The Author of the Eagle's Shadow". This article first appeared in A Round Table in Poictesme (Hall A8), edited by Don Bregenzer and Samuel Loveman, published by The Colophon Club, Cleveland, 1924. It was later reprinted in Straws and Prayer Books.